HMS Griffon (1896)

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History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Griffon
Builder Laird, Son & Co., Birkenhead
Laid down7 March 1896
Launched21 November 1896
CompletedNovember 1897
Fate Scrapped, 1920
General characteristics
Class and type Earnest-class destroyer
Displacement395 long tons (401 t)
Length210 ft (64 m)
Beam21.5 ft (6.6 m)
Draught9.75 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Complement63
Armament

HMS Griffon was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was completed by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, in 1896.

Contents

Construction

Griffon was ordered on 9 January 1896 as one of six 30-knotter destroyers programmed to be built by Lairds under the 1895–1896 programme. [1] These followed on from four very similar destroyers ordered from Lairds as part of the 1894–1895 programme. [2]

Griffon was 218 ft 0 in (66.45 m) long overall and 213 ft 0 in (64.92 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) and a draught of 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m). Displacement was 355 long tons (361 t) light and 415 long tons (422 t) deep load. Like the other Laird-built 30-knotters, Griffon was propelled by two triple expansion steam engines, fed by four Normand boilers, rated at 6,300  ihp (4,700 kW), and was fitted with four funnels. [2] [3]

Armament was the standard for the 30-knotters, i.e. a QF 12 pounder 12 cwt (3 in (76 mm) calibre) gun on a platform on the ship's conning tower (in practice the platform was also used as the ship's bridge), with a secondary armament of five 6-pounder guns, and two 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes. [4] [5]

Griffon was laid down as Yard number 622 on 7 March 1896 and launched on 21 November that year. [1] She reached a speed of 30.11 kn (34.65 mph; 55.76 km/h) during sea trials, [6] and was completed in November 1897. [1]

Service

Griffon departed for the Mediterranean Squadron, together with sister ship Earnest, in September 1898, [1] and was still serving in the Mediterranean in January 1900. [7] She visited Greek waters in September 1902, [8] and Lieutenant Harry Charles John Roberts West was appointed in command when she was back at Malta in late October 1902. [9] In early January 1903 she took part in a three-weeks cruise with other ships of her squadron in the Greek islands around Corfu. [10] Griffon returned to British waters in 1906. [1] In early 1910, Griffon, part of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla, was refitted at Chatham Dockyard. [11]

On 30 August 1912 the Admiralty directed all destroyers were to be grouped into classes designated by letters based on contract speed and appearance. As a four-funneled 30-knotter destroyer, Griffon was assigned to the B Class. [12] [13] In 1912, older destroyers were transferred to patrol flotillas, [14] with Griffon forming part of the Seventh Flotilla, based at Devonport, by March 1913. [15] [14] Griffon remained part of the Seventh Flotilla in June 1914. [16] [17] Griffon entered refit at Pembroke Dockyard in July 1914. [18]

In January 1915, Griffon was based at Scapa Flow, as one of a force of 29 destroyers used for local patrols of this key anchorage, the base for the Grand Fleet. [19] [20] Griffon remained attached to the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow in February 1918, [21] but by March 1918 had transferred to the Irish Sea Flotilla. [22] On 19 May 1918, she was one of several warships dispatched to investigate a sighting report of a periscope by an airship off the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales. No submarine was destroyed in the resulting operations. [23] Griffon was based at Holyhead on Anglesey for operations in the Irish sea at the end of the war. [24] [25]

Disposal

In January 1919, Griffon was listed as being temporarily based at Devonport Naval Base. [26] In April 1920, she was listed as for sale, [27] and she was sold for scrap to Castle of Plymouth on 1 July 1920. [28]

Pennant numbers

Pennant number [28] FromTo
D391914September 1915
D81September 1915January 1918
D45January 1918Retirement

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lyon 2001 , p. 62
  2. 1 2 Lyon 2001 , pp. 61–62
  3. ↑ Chesneau & Kolesnik 1979 , p. 94
  4. ↑ Lyon 2001 , pp. 98–99
  5. ↑ Friedman 2009 , p. 40
  6. ↑ Brassey 1898 , p. 349
  7. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36046. London. 23 January 1900. p. 12.
  8. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36893. London. 8 October 1902. p. 4.
  9. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36854. London. 23 August 1902. p. 8.
  10. ↑ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36983. London. 21 January 1903. p. 8.
  11. ↑ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Chatham Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 37, no. 443. March 1910. p. 7.
  12. ↑ Gardiner & Gray 1985 , p. 18
  13. ↑ Manning 1961 , pp. 17–18
  14. 1 2 Manning 1961 , p. 25
  15. ↑ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Patrol Flotillas". The Monthly Naval List. March 1913. p. 269d. Retrieved 6 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  16. ↑ "223a: Griffon. (Dev.) Torpedo Boat Destroyer". The Monthly Naval List. March 1913. p. 322. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  17. ↑ "Fleets and Squadrons in Commission at Home and Abroad: Patrol Flotillas". The Monthly Naval List. March 1913. p. 269c. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  18. ↑ "Naval Matters—Past and Prospective: Pembroke Dockyard". The Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. 32. August 1914. p. 308.
  19. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.: Home and Atlantic Waters: Attached Destroyers and Depot Ships". The Navy List. January 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  20. ↑ Manning 1961 , p. 27
  21. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.: I.—The Grand Fleet: Other Ships Attached to Grand Fleet". The Navy List. February 1918. p. 12. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  22. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.: XI.—Irish Sea Flotilla". The Navy List. March 1918. p. 19. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  23. ↑ Rickard, J. (7 January 2019). "HMS Griffon (1896)". HistoryOfWar.org. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  24. ↑ "Ships of the Royal Navy - Location/Action Data, 1914–1918: Part 2 - Admiralty "Pink Lists", 11 November 1918". Naval-history.net. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  25. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.: IX.—Coast of Ireland Station". The Navy List. December 1918. p. 18. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  26. ↑ "Supplement to the Monthly Naval List Showing Organisation of the Fleet, Flag Officer's Commands, &c.: XI.—Vessels at Home Ports Temporarily: Devonport". The Navy List. January 1919. p. 20. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  27. ↑ "List of Obsolete Vessels and Vessels for Sale". The Navy List. p. 1105b. Retrieved 7 July 2019– via National Library of Scotland.
  28. 1 2 Dittmar & Colledge 1972 , p. 57

Bibliography

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